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Mauer capturing old magic early in season
- Updated: April 20, 2016
MINNEAPOLIS — Is Joe Mauer back?
That’s the question the Twins organization and its fans are undoubtedly wondering after his hot start this season. Mauer, coming off two subpar years after suffering his season-ending concussion in 2013, looks like his old self early this season, hitting .340/.452/.480 with a homer, two doubles and a triple in 14 games entering Wednesday’s game against the Brewers.
More important, advanced statistics show Mauer is a different hitter from the last two seasons, as he’s struck out in 6.5 percent of his plate appearances, while walking 16.1 percent of the time. It’s a major improvement from the last two years; he struck out 18.5 percent of the time in ’14 and 16.8 percent of the time in ’15. He walked 11.6 percent of the time in ’14, and 10.1 percent in ’15.
“The big difference right now, and it’s way too early to put this into a pattern, but he’s putting the ball in play,” Twins general manager Terry Ryan said. “He’s not striking out. When you look at that stat page, he’s walking more than he’s …
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